Chair Named For RI Energy Efficiency & Resource Management Council

Press release from OSJL:

March 19, 2023

Ocean State Job Lot (OSJL), the region’s premier discount retail chain with 152 stores across the Northeast, is proud to announce that Harry Oakley, Director of Energy, Sustainability, Procurement & Corporate Facilities, has been named chair of the State of Rhode Island’s Energy Efficiency & Resource Management Council (EERMC).

"It’s a great honor to have been selected to lead the Energy Efficiency & Resource Management Council for the State of Rhode Island,” said Harry Oakley, Director of Energy, Sustainability, Procurement & Corporate Facilities, Ocean State Job Lot. “By evaluating science and data, engaging stakeholders, and overseeing and promoting our state’s energy efficiency programs, it’s my goal to help guide Rhode Island and its residents into a ‘greener future.’"

As chair, Oakley will collaborate with 14 other EERMC members who represent small and large businesses, nonprofit organizations, market rate and low-income homeowners and renters, municipalities, governments, and environmental science and policy stakeholders. The EERMC is an integral piece of a collaborative decision-making process to implement the legislative mandate of acquiring all cost-effective efficiency resources for the State of Rhode Island.

“Harry has been instrumental in moving our company toward a more sustainable future that exceeds both industry and mandated renewable energy standards,” Wayne MacLeod, Senior Director of Property Development, Ocean State Job Lot. “His efforts have resulted in the creation of new jobs and the reduction of operational costs for OSJL, as well as the generation of additional tax revenue for the communities to which we bring the projects he’s led. Harry’s experience will be beneficial to the EERMC and the State of Rhode Island.”

Additionally, Oakley and OSJL’s Head of Real Estate, Jonathan Navallo, are speaking at the SPECS Show 2023, a premier conference for store planning and facilities professionals produced by Chain Store Age. On Tuesday, March 21st, the OSJL representatives will lead a discussion entitled Leveraging Roof Space for Profit – and Sustainability, focusing on the profitability and sustainability benefits that solar leasing programs offer.

In 2021, OSJL launched a partnership with the Newport, Rhode Island-based developer, financier, and owner-operator, Ecogy Energy (“Ecogy”), to host the largest rooftop solar portfolio in Rhode Island, hosted atop its stores from Westerly to Woonsocket. This solar portfolio is just one representation of OSJL’s continued dedication to expanding sustainability initiatives company-wide and to giving back to their community. For instance, in 2018, in an effort to lower their carbon footprint, OSJL invested $14 million to modernize its distribution center and store locations with high-efficiency lighting. As a direct result of this complete LED rollout, OSJL reduced their overall energy consumption by 17.4 million kWh in just one year. According to the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator that is equivalent to carbon dioxide emissions from 1.3 million gallons of gasoline consumed or the carbon sequestered by 15,108 acres of U.S. forests in one year.

This press release was produced by OSJL. The views expressed here are the author's own.